Martin County Commission affirms vote to extend public water to North Skyline Drive

MARTIN COUNTY — The County Commission at its meeting Tuesday unanimously affirmed its April 1 vote to extend public water to the North Skyline Drive area of Jensen Beach.

The commission voted following a presentation from staff laying out the legal requirements for public utilities changes and demonstrating that the county met each of those requirements.

More than 50 citizens attended the Tuesday meeting, and about 20 addressed county commissioners.

Most spoke in favor of the extension.

The commissioners first approved the extension on a 3-2 vote at its April 1 meeting, but on April 15 agreed to revisit that decision in response to concerns voiced by almost one-third of the neighborhood.

Those meetings each were attended by about 30 residents, most of whom protested the extension, in particular the county’s notification process, which some neighbors described as confusing and misleading, and its balloting process, which some neighbors said was conducted improperly.

Over the past 20 years, Skyline Drive residents have approached the county multiple times asking that their neighborhood — several subdivisions that comprise the area known as North Skyline Drive — be absorbed into the public water system.

In response to the most recent petition, signed by 45 people about two years ago, the county began its standard utilities extension procedure: It advertised an upcoming vote and then mailed out two rounds of ballots to the 245 properties.

More than 70 percent of the residents responded.

One hundred and six residents voted for the extension, 84 voted against and 55 did not respond, according to the county.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Assistant County Administrator Roger Baltz and Senior Assistant County Attorney Sarah Woods said they reviewed the county’s procedure, but found no evidence of wrongdoing.

They said they also reviewed the submitted ballots and found one mistake: A ballot marked and counted as a “no” vote was not signed and should not have been counted.

Residents who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting not only urged the commissioners to proceed with the extension, but also expressed dismay that the commission would consider changing its original vote.

John Polley, director of Martin County Utilities and Solid Waste, before the meeting said he was certain the commission would find his department’s actions were “fair and above board.”

Polley said that over the past 30 years he’s worked with more than 13,000 affected parcels.

“We’re never surprised,” Polley said about public response. “It’s not uncommon for people to make this argument.”

But, Polley added, the county may consider changing the way it goes about collecting votes, a process in place for almost 20 years.

The department would consider, next time, sending out the first round of mail regular and the second round certified, he said.

The project area is bounded on the south by Zelda Terrace, on the east by the Florida East Coast Railway, on the north by the north line of properties fronting Northeast Ocean View Circle and the west by Savannah Road, excluding properties fronting Savannah Road, presently without public water supply.

Homeowners have the option to pay for the extension through one lump sum of $5,871 or spread the payments out over the next 10 years.

The extended plan carries a 3.5 percent interest rate. Yearly payments would come to about $774 a year, said project manager Phil Keathley.

Construction, which was been put on hold pending the results of Tuesday’s meeting, will resume immediately.